Comte de Rochefort
Comte De Rochefort was an agent of Cardinal Richelieu in Spain. Currently, he has taken over the Cardinal's position and is now the King's First Minister and commands the Red Guard. Since the departure of the Cardinal, he is the main antagonist for the Musketeers as he secretly works for Spain's interests in France and tries to keep this secret from them. He is portrayed by Marc Warren. Biography The Musketeers believed Rochefort to be rotting in Spain with no hope of release but, to his good fortune, he managed to escape during a prison transfer to Madrid. After fleeing to France with news for the Cardinal, he decided to travel incognito to evade detection but Rochefort's fortunes soured when he shot an inn keeper in cold blood, was caught by a lynching mob and then rescued by The Musketeers. To top off his unlucky streak, he was told that his benefactor, the Cardinal, has died and forced to reveal his hand - that General Du Fois is in Spanish hands - earlier than expected to The Musketeers before he could use it in his favour. As Rochefort attends court, he meets Louis XIII and the Queen Anne. The Queen remarks that Rochefort and she are well acquainted since he was her tutor in Spain - something that fills Rochefort with pride. However, before the King can hear about Rochefort's daring escape, the Spanish Ambassador Perades bursts in to demand Rochefort to be handed back to Spanish hands as a fugitive. As the king staunchly declines, Rochefort takes the opportunity to embarrass Perades by knocking him down - much to the quiet approval of the French court. However, later on, Perades and Rochefort conspire in secret. It turns out that Rochefort has secured his release by swearing an oath to Spain - something the Cardinal would have not looked favourably on - and that his release and the actions above were a greater Spanish scheme to secure their agent - Rochefort - closer to the King and replace the now deceased Cardinal in the King's affections. The plan is that by rescuing the General from Spanish hands, he will get the Musketeers killed in the escape but return a hero to France. Returning to France, his scheme successful, although with the Musketeers alive, he is rewarded by the king with the leadership of the Red Guard. Eventually, through discrediting the work of the Musketeers and siding with the King, he moves closer up the hierarchy to a position of the First Minister - the position that the Cardinal held - and closer the time comes where he will make good his promise: to drive a wedge between the King and the Queen which will drive France to its knees. He later finds out about the King's mistress Milady de Winter and hires her to murder Perades. After he found out about Anne's affair he tells the king that she has contacted her brother. Personality As one of the Cardinal's trusted lieutenant's, Rochefort has no qualms in believing the ends justifying the means. Like the Cardinal, Rochefort is incredibly charismatic, manipulative, patient, an extraordinary actor. He also shares the Cardinal's intense hatred of the Musketeers. Rochefort is capable of manipulating even King Louis - which isn't difficult - but also able to conceal his plans from any prying eyes. Rochefort was highly intelligent and cunning, a master strategist. Rochefort was also arrogant and sadistic, to the point of extreme confidence. He was unimaginably ruthless, and has no complaints about taking many lives in pursuit of his goals. Rochefort was pathologically bitter, as a result of his years in prison. This has resulted in Rochefort suffering from a borderline personality disorder, categorised by fear of abandonment, delusions of grandeur, anxiety and emotional detachment. This is because, as a child, he had an intense crush on Queen Anne and it was this that motivated him through his imprisonment. When he discovered that she was having an affair with Aramis, and that she was giving away a token that he had offered her when they were children, he flew into a violent rage and - for the first time - lost his temper and tried to rape her. When she attacked him back, he vowed that the King would hear of her affair with Aramis and that she would pay for what she'd done to him. Rochefort, aside from being a genius in many respects, was a skilled swordsman, and could face off against several opponents almost flawlessly. Relationships Anne Working as an agent in Spain, he was a tutor to a fourteen year old Anne. His fondness for his charge was notable since he gave the young princess (at the time) a crucifix as sign on his affection. After being chained up with him in a prison, he has hinted to Porthos that his desire for the Queen was the only thing that helped him cope with incarceration in Spain. However, whether his desire had always been there or whether the torment had unhinged him, Rochefort's fascination with the Queen makes him unstable. In a private fantasy, he sees the Queen and she returns his love. After finding a working girl who looks like the Queen in his eyes, he pays her to dress for him in a gown that resembles the Queen, complete with crown. After seeing the crucifix he gave to Anne on Aramis, he blackmails one of Aramis' current lover's, one of the Queen's lady's in waiting, to steal the crucifix. However, in recovering his crucifix, he further blackmails her to spy on the Queen and Aramis, since he believes there has been a romance between them (an act of treason). However, as he confronts the Queen, he breaks down mentally revealing his obsession to a disgusted Queen and tries to force himself on her before Constance Bonacieux disturbs them. In self defence, the Queen puts out one of Rochefort's eyes. Leaving in despair and fury at the Queen's rejection, he vows that the Queen will suffer. Milady de Winter Seeing Milady de Winter as a threat in the court, he researches her and finds out she is also an agent of the Cardinal. Seeing her more as a tool for his schemes, he enlists her help in areas that suit her field such as assassination. Trying to remain aloof, he keeps Milady at arm's length - as she's in the King's favour - in his Spanish schemes. However, he doesn't count on Milady's inquisitive nature and, after she hints that she knows his secret, he ultimately seeks to silence Milady permanently Louis XIII Preying on the Louis XIII fears, Rochefort has worked his way into the position of one of his trusted members of the Royal Court. The attention and sweet words he lavishes on the King means makes Rochefort seem trustworthy and understanding but, in reality, Rochefort is manipulating and feeding the king what he wants to hear but not necessarily what he needs to hear, a quality that Treville provides in the Court. As an agent of Spain, this makes him a valuable asset for Spain and the Spymaster Vargas. External links Category:Nobility Category:Characters Category:Site maintenance Category:Deceased Category:Musketeers Enemies